Electric circuit controllers



March 12, 1957 J. A. WATSON 2,785,241

ELECTRIC CIRCUIT CONTROLLERS Fild Nov. 10, 1953 United States Patent 3dice 2,785,241 Patented Mar. 12, 1957 2,785,241 ELECTRIC CIRCUIT CONTROLLERS John Ansley Watson, Braunston, near Rugby, England, assignor to The British Thomson-Houston Company Limited, a British company Application November 10, 1953, Serial No. 391,350

Claims priority, application Great Britain November 14, 1952 6 Claims. (Cl. 200-16) This invention relates to electric circuit controllers adapted for simultaneously making and/or breaking a plurality of circuits at a plurality of sets of contacts. The contacts may be, and generally will be connected in separate circuits, but two or more makes or breaks can be connected in series if desired.

Many forms of electric circuit controllers have been evolved for this purpose, but the present invention is concerned essentially with devices in which contacts are made and broken in air as the insulating medium, the current-carrying capacity being relatively high at a comparatively low voltage.

The main object of this invention is to provide an electric circuit controller which is capable of rapid closing of a circuit.

A multiple contact electric circuit controller according to the invention comprises at least two insulating members spaced apart from one another in parallel relation, a flexible contact-carrying diaphragm located between the insulating members, and supported from the insulating members at regions spaced apart at or near its periphery, and means for simultaneously causing relative movement to occur between contacts carried by the diaphragm and contacts otherwise supported from the insulating members.

In carrying out the invention I prefer to provide actuating means extending through aligned apertures in the insulating members and connected to the diaphragms so that the diaphragms can simultaneously be moved, whereby contacts carried by the diaphragms are made to engage and disengage from fixed contacts mounted on the insulating members. flexibility of the diaphragms is relied upon to provide some at least of the bias desired for effecting engagement or disengagement of the contacts carried by the diaphragm with the other contacts co-operating therewith. This bias may be assisted or countered by a bias associated with the actuating means; for example, a rod carried through aligned apertures in the lnsulating members may be extended to engage a spring acting between a collar on the rod and the endmost insulating member. This bias may assist the bias provided by the diaphragms or may act in opposition thereto, the resulting bias being normally restrained by means of an actuating mechanism In this preferred arrangement, the

including a toggle which may be constructed in accordbut, for some purposes, it may be made of conducting material. Fixed contacts in the form of L- or Z-shaped members mounted on the insulating members extend over the diaphragms to provide contact surfaces engaged by contacts carried near the centre of the diaphragms, deflection of the diaphragm simultaneously by the actuating rod causing the contacts carried by them to engage or disengage from the fixed contacts mounted on the insulating members.

The accompanying drawings show a preferred arrangement in accordance with the invention, Fig. 1 being a side view in cross-section on the line 11 of Fig. 2 of the circuit controller; Fig. 2 a cross-section in plan along the line 2--2 of Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is an alternative construction for the fixed contacts.

Referring to the drawings, the circuit controller is of the kind embodying two banks of contacts simultaneously controllable by a single operating member. The controller is built up basically from two insulating members 1, 2 in the form of discs spaced apart from one another by pillars 3 of which there are three in number shown spaced equidistantly around the periphery of the discs. In the arrangement shown, the pillars 3 are of metal since this is suitable for the purpose in view, although in many cases it will be necessary to use insulating material for the pillars. Mounted on the pillars and located on either side of the insulating member 2 are the flexible contactcarrying diaphragms 4, 5. The diaphragms are made each of generally star-shape, and are supported by having their extending arms 5 clamped to the pillars 3 so that the diaphragms are located in parallel relation with the insulating members 1, 2. The arms of the diaphragms 5 are corrugated, as shown, in order to increase flexibility. At their central portions the diaphragms carry contacts 6. These contacts are adapted to engage with, and disengage from, contacts 7 arranged in two banks, each bank cooperating with an individual contact 6. The contacts 7, of which there are three in each bank, are disposed in equiangular relation to one another, as indicated in Fig. 2, and are symmetrically spaced between the arms 5' of the diaphragms. The contacts 7 are mounted on insulating members 8, similar to the numbers 1, 2 which are also supported by being clamped on the pillars 3. The contacts 7 are each connected to conductors 9 which are preferably in the form of laminated copper strips, the strips being bent into a U to embrace the insulating members 3 and are clamped to the contacts 7 by bolts--10, passing through spacers 11. The contacts '7 are each provided with engaging surfaces formed by buttons 12 of highly electrically conductive material.

Simultaneous actuation of the contacts 6 is provided by an operating rod 13 extending th ough central aligned apertures in the insulating members, the rod being provided with shoulders 14- which abut against the contacts 6. The contacts are biased upwardly by means of springs 15, 16, the upper of which surrounds the operating rod 13 and abuts against the insulating member 2, while the lower 16 abuts against the insulating member 1. The diaphragms 5 centrally locate the contacts 6 and the operating rod 13, which is thus maintained in a position in which it extends axially or" the whole assembly. The diaphragtns 6 by performing the function of locating the actuating rod, avoid the necessity for any conventional form of bearing for the rod 13. As a result of the avoidance of such a bearing, the frictional restraint against rapid movement of the contacts is substantially reduced, thus increasing the operating speed of contact movement.

In the arrangement shown, since the operating rod is biased upwardly by the springs 15, 16, the contacts 6, 7 tend to move to the closed position. For the purpose for 1 greener which the circuit controller is intended, the closure of the contacts 6, 7 is desired to be effected with a minimum delay after the initiation of a circuit controlling operation. The contact rod may be restrained against the bias by I cans of an electro- .agnetically controlled toggle mechanot required to be insulated from one another, and therefore the operating rod 13 may be made of electrically conductive material.

In most cases, it will be desirable to make it of insulating material in order to isolatethe contacts 6 from one another. In this case, the pillars 3 will also be made of insulating material, otherwise they would provide a path connecting the contacts 6 together independently of the rod 13.

In the arrangement shown in Fig. 3 an alternative means is adopted for supporting the contacts 7 in which the connection 9 is clamped between the upper surfaces of the insulating member 8 and the metal spacerll, instead of utilising the arrangement indicated in Fig. 1.

While the illustrated construction embodies three fixed contacts in each bank, it will be more generally useful for many purposes to provide only two such contacts to be interconnected by the contact mounted on the diaphragm. In this case, the diaphragm will more conveniently be made with extended regions of support diametrically located and of sufiicient extent circumfercntially to ensure the lateral stability of the diaphragm.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. A multiple contact electric circuit controller comprising two insulating members spaced apart in parallel relation, a plurality of equi-distantly spaced pillars extending between said insulating members, a flexible starshaped diaphragm mounted intermediately between and in spaced relation to said insulating members in parallel relation thereto, annular contact means centrally mounted in said diaphragm, the arms of said diaphragm extending equi-angularly from said annular contact means and being secured to said equi-distantly spaced pillars extending between said insulating members, a bank of radially inwardlyextending equi-angularly spaced contacts mountedon one of .said insulating members, said contacts lying between the arms of said diaphragm with the inwardends 4 of said contacts being adapted to beeng'aged by said annular contact meansand an actuatingro-dextendingnormal to and passing through at least one of said insulating members and said diaphragm.

2. A multiple contact electric circuit controller as claimed in claim 1 having spring means for biasing said diaphragm in a direction to cause said contact means to engage said bank of fixed contacts.

3. A multiple contact electric circuit controller as claimed in-claim l'having spring means surrounding said actuating rod and mounted between said contactmeans and one of said insulating members for biasing said diaphragm in a-direction to cause said contact members to engage said bank of spaced contacts.

4. A multiple contact electric circuit controller comprising a pair of apertured disc-like insulating members, piilars equi-distantly spaced around the periphery of said insulating members on which said members are supported in spaced parallel relation, a pair of flexible star-shaped diaphragms mounted on said pillars in spaced and parallel relation and located on either side of one of said insulating members, annular contact means centrally -mounted in each of said diaphragms and provided with centrally located apertures which are positioned in axial alignment with respect to the apertures insaid insulating members, a bank of radiallyinwardly-extending equi-angularly spaced contacts mounted on said disc-like insulating members with said contacts in facing relation with respect to said annular contact means, an actuating rod extending through the aligned apertures in said insulating members and said contact means provided with means engaging said contact means and spring means biasing said contact means into engagement with said contacts.

5. -A multiple contact electric circuit controller as claimed in claim 4, in which said actuating rod;-is shouldered to engage the face of said contact means opposed to the face thereof engaged by said spring means.

6. -A multiple contact electric circuit controller as claimed in claim 4, in which said diaphragms are'corrugated concentrically with the axis of said actuating rod to increase the flexibility'of said diaphragms.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,050,328 Anhorst u Jan. 14, 1913 1,985,340 Dodge Dec. 25, 1934 2,661,412 Dreyfus 'Dec. 1, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 511,061 France Sept. 1 7,192!) 645,936 Germany June 5, 1937 

